Earlier this month, Honor announced its plans to reveal the Honor Magic 4 Series in Mobile World Congress — or ‘MWC’ — in Barcelona. So, what should we expect from the new Honor handsets?
Firstly, some context: Honor was previously part of Huawei but is now a separate company, meaning that Honor phones generally share plenty of similarities with Huawei handsets, but crucially they can access Google apps and services. That makes the Magic 4 Series a more interesting proposition than Huawei alternatives to most UK buyers.
Back in December 2021, we reviewed the Honor 50 and were reasonably impressed. The phone had a few faults, but overall it’s an appealing mid-range handset. It’s certainly something for Honor to build on and the Honor 50 gives us a level of expectation for the new Magic 4 Series.
The ‘Magic’ moniker and pre-hyped unveiling suggest this series of phones will be at the higher end of Honor’s offering, so we’re expecting something a little more expensive and upmarket than the Honor 50.
There is some speculation that the Magic 4 will be Europe’s version of the Honor Magic V, a foldable that’s been on sale in China since January. There are currently no known plans for a UK release of the Magic V. It could also be a non-foldable successor to the Magic 3 Series, which did not launch in the UK. Either way, we’re expecting some fairly impressive specs and the latest chip — likely the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
For more on Honor, take a look at our full Honor 50 review, or read on for the latest updates on the Honor Magic 4.
Honor Magic 4 UK release date
Honor confirmed on Twitter that the Magic 4 Series will be unveiled at MWC 2022, on the 28th of February. However, there’s likely to be at least a small delay until the phone sees a full release in the UK and Europe.
Previous phones with the ‘Magic’ moniker have not been sold in the UK and Europe, but we’re expecting that to change with the release of the Honor Magic 4. It being revealed at MWC is a strong hint that UK users will be able to get their hands on the phone.
Honor Magic 4 design rumours
As mentioned previously, the Magic 4 Series may be Europe’s edition of the Honor Magic V, an interesting foldable handset with some reasonably impressive specs.
Of course, there’s a chance the Magic 4 Series could be something else entirely. We’ll be attending the unveiling at MWC and keeping this page up to date with the latest news, so stay tuned for updates.
In the Twitter post from Honor, all we can see of the phone is a camera lens. Notably, it looks similar to that on the Magic V, supporting the idea that the Magic 4 Series may be the UK and Europe edition of the same phone. If this is the case, we’re likely to see a very similar handset with a few small differences — for example, rumours suggest a smaller screen with a higher refresh rate.
Honor Magic 4 display and camera rumours
The Magic V has a triple camera array on its reverse, housing three 50MP snappers. On the front, there’s a 42MP selfie camera. We’re expecting something similar on the Magic 4, but we’re going to have to wait for confirmation.
Similarly, the Magic V has a foldable 7.9-inch OLED display and we’re expecting a similar panel on the Magic 4 Series. It packs a 90Hz refresh rate, which is not to be sniffed at but does lag behind the increasingly popular and available 120Hz refresh rates many competing handsets are offering. We wouldn’t be surprised to see an upgraded 120Hz display on the Magic 4 Series as a result.
Honor Magic 4 UK pricing and availability
The Magic V’s Chinese price-point is the equivalent of around £1,150 for the base 256GB model. That’s expensive, but this sort of foldable generally is. If the Magic 4 Series is confirmed as a set of foldable phones, then we’re expecting a similar price point.
However, there’s still the possibility that the phones won’t take on a foldable format, instead of acting as the successors to the Honor Magic 3, which also did not receive a UK release date. Right now, we’re still in the dark on exactly what to expect, but we’ll keep this page updated with the latest news on Honor’s new phone series.
